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Sunday, July 26, 2015

I hope this summer you all - teachers and parents and parents that are teachers and teachers that are parents... I hope you all are taking good care of yourselves.

And when back to school (BTS) begins again, I hope you continue.

Educators should practice extreme self – care to foster the long
term resiliency needed for the school year. Self-care in all of life’s areas (physical, financial, spiritual,
mental, and emotional) should preempt burn-out in any profession of continuous
purpose filled service.

How one responds in an educational environment depends
largely on how clear one can become. I believe clarity stems from creating
systems that facilitate self-love. Often the way a teacher copes with a
particular situation can stem more from whether or not they are receiving
adequate rest, rather than responding to 'random acts of crazy' that often occur in our classrooms.

I suggest devoting at least twenty five percent of an educator’s break time
(lunch or conference) to an action of self-care.

Sunday, July 5, 2015

“When our language is direct and authentic, when we say what we mean and mean what we say, children learn that they can trust us. They learn that we won’t use language to trick, manipulate , or confuse them. This feeling of safety must be in place if children are to take the risks that are necessary to learning – try out fledgling skills, to explore their own and others’ thoughts, and to take on challenges.” –Paula Denton, EdD

If your child does not show or tell about their school day a
strong possibility exists that engagement is waning in their educational world. Lack of positive or negative reports from a student generally indicate that the
learner has lost interest in their classroom environment. Some showing / telling translates
from body action, some from actual product.

To what one gives
their conversation and attention is that which that holds his priority.

How to address the engagement collapse? Request show and tell.

Show me your grades.

Show me your homework.

Tell me what you are learning in first
period.

Tell me about your science teacher, I’ve heard she is difficult.

Tell
me what are on your walls in your classroom.

Creating a space for safe conversations that target show and
tell responses may recharge the learning / attention process. If children come
to expect a certain level of accountability for these type of conversations,
more than likely they will be encouraged to respond.